A Global Security System: An Alternative to War (2018-19 Edition)

By Kent Shifferd, David Swanson and Patrick Hiller

Resting on a convincing body of evidence that violence is not a necessary component of conflict among states and between states and non-state actors, World BEYOND War asserts that war itself can be ended.  We humans have lived without war for most of our existence and most people live without war most of the time.  Warfare arose about

• Language: English
• Publisher: World Beyond War
• Release date: Sep 7, 2018
• ISBN: 9780998085975

Book preview

A GLOBAL SECURITY SYSTEM:

AN ALTERNATIVE TO WAR

2018-19 EDITION

A Global Security System: An Alternative to War (2018-19 Edition)

Produced and published by World BEYOND War

2018-19 Edition Editor: Tony Jenkins

ISBN: 978-0-9980859-6-8 (print version)

ISBN: 978-0-9980859-7-5 (ebook version)

Original authors: Shifferd, Kent; Hiller, Patrick; Swanson, David

Valuable feedback and/or contributions to this and past editions by: Colin Archer, Steve Bailey, Jim Bearden, Kathy Beckwith, Leah Bolger, Robert Burrowes, Mary DeCamp, Mel Duncan, Pat Elder, Russ Faure-Brac, Ronald Glossop, Judith Hand, David Hartsough, John Horgan, Robert Irwin, Susan Lain Harris, Patricia Mische, Catherine Mullaugh, Margaret Pecoraro, David Prater, Betty Reardon, John Reuwer, Joe Scarry, Annette Schmidt, Alice Slater, Jewell Starsinger, Linda Swanson, Laurie Timmermann, Benjamin Urmston, & Greta Zarro.

Apologies to those who have provided feedback and are not mentioned.  Your input is valued. 

Layout and design: Paloma Ayala, www.ayalapaloma.com

SUMMARY

Resting on a convincing body of evidence that violence is not a necessary component of conflict among states and between states and non-state actors, World BEYOND War asserts that war itself can be ended.  We humans have lived without war for most of our existence and most people live without war most of the time.  Warfare arose about 10,000 years ago (only 5% of our existence as Homo Sapiens) and spawned a vicious cycle as peoples, fearing attack by militarized states, found it necessary to imitate them; and so began the cycle of violence that has culminated in the last 100 years in a condition of permawar.  War now threatens to destroy civilization as weapons have become ever more destructive.  However, in the last 150 years, revolutionary new knowledge and methods of nonviolent conflict management have been developing that lead us to assert that it is time to end warfare and that we can do so by mobilizing millions around a global effort. 

Here you will find the pillars of war which must be taken down so that the whole edifice of the War System can collapse, and here are the foundations of peace, already being laid, on which we will build a world where everyone will be safe.  This book presents a comprehensive blueprint for peace as the basis of an action plan to finally end war. 

SUMMARY

HOW THIS BOOK IS ORGANIZED…AND HOW TO USE IT

STUDY WAR NO MORE – JOIN OUR ONLINE LEARNING COMMUNITY

PREFACE TO 2018-19 EDITION

A GUIDING VISION OF PEACE

INTRODUCTION: A BLUEPRINT FOR ENDING WAR

The Work of World BEYOND War

Disclaimer

Why an Alternative Global Security System is Necessary

What Makes Us Secure?

The Old Security Paradigm

Alternative Security Paradigms

Human Security

Authentic Security

Human Needs

Common Security

The Iron Cage of War: The Present War System Described

The Necessity of an Alternative System – War Fails to Bring Peace

War is Becoming Ever More Destructive

War Preparation and War are Major Contributors to the Environmental Crisis

The Benefits of an Alternative System

WHY WE THINK A PEACE SYSTEM IS POSSIBLE

There is already more Peace in the World than War

We Have Changed Major Systems in the Past

We Live in a Rapidly Changing World

The Perils of Patriarchy are Being Challenged

Compassion and Cooperation are Part of the Human Condition

The Importance of Structures of War and Peace

An Alternative System is Already Developing

Nonviolence: The Foundation of Peace

OUTLINE OF AN ALTERNATIVE GLOBAL SECURITY SYSTEM

How Systems Work

Components of the Alternative Global Security System

DEMILITARIZING SECURITY

Executive Summary

Strategic Policy and Action Recommendations

Shift to a Non-Provocative Defense Posture

Phase Out Foreign Military Bases

Dismantle Military Alliances

End Invasions and Occupations

Disarmament

Conventional Weapons

Outlaw the Arms Trade

End the Use of Militarized Drones

Phase Out Weapons of Mass Destruction

Establish a Peace Economy

Realign Military Spending

The Economics of War Prevention

Create a Stable, Fair and Sustainable Global Economy

Democratize International Economic Institutions (WTO, IMF, IBRD)

Create an Environmentally Sustainable Global Aid Plan

Reconfigure the Response to Terrorism

The Role of Women in Peace and Security

MANAGING CONFLICT WITHOUT VIOLENCE

Shifting to A Pro-Active Posture

Executive Summary

Strategic Policy and Action Recommendations

Strengthening International Institutions and Regional Alliances

Reform the United Nations

Reform the Charter to More Effectively Deal with Aggression

Reform the General Assembly

Reform the Security Council

Provide Adequate Funding

Forecasting and Managing Conflicts Early On

Align Early with Indigenous Nonviolent Movements

Reform Peacekeeping Operations

International Law

Strengthen the International Court of Justice

Strengthen the International Criminal Court

Encourage Compliance with Existing Treaties

Create New Treaties

Establish Truth and Reconciliation Commissions

The Role of Global Civil Society and International NGOs

Nonviolent Intervention: Utilizing Civilian Peacekeeping Forces

Create a Nonviolent, Civilian-Based Defense Force

Proposals for Starting Over: Alternative Approaches to Humane Global Governance

Inherent Problems with Collective Security

Principles of Humane Global Governance

The Earth Federation & The Earth Constitution

Proposal for a Global Emergency Assembly

CREATING A CULTURE OF PEACE

Establishing a Culture of Peace

Executive Summary

Strategic Policy and Action Recommendations

Telling a New Story

The Unprecedented Peace Revolution of Modern Times

Planetary Citizenship: One People, One Planet, One Peace

Spreading and Funding Peace Education and Peace Research

Cultivating Peace Journalism

Utilize Religion as a Tool for Building Peace

ACCELERATING THE TRANSITION: BUILDING THE WORLD BEYOND WAR MOVEMENT

Coalition-Building

Peace Education Programs

Nonviolent Direct Action Campaigns

CONCLUSION

Be Inspired

APPENDICES

Who We Are

World BEYOND War Chapters, Affiliates and Country Coordinators

Resource Guide

Books

Movies

Debunking Myths of War (handout)

Kellogg-Briand Pact 1928 (handout)

HOW THIS BOOK IS ORGANIZED…AND HOW TO USE IT

This book begins with a provocative Vision of Peace which may seem to some to be utopian until one reads the rest of the book which comprises the means for achieving it. The first two parts of the book present an analysis of how the current war system works, the desirability and necessity of replacing it, and an analysis of why doing this is possible. The next part outlines the Alternative Global Security System (AGSS) that challenges the failed system of national security and replaces it with the concept of common security - no one is safe until all are safe.

The AGSS relies on three broad strategies for humanity to end war: 1) demilitarizing security, 2) managing conflicts without violence, and 3) creating a culture of peace. These are the interrelated components of our system: the frameworks, processes, tools and institutions necessary for dismantling the war machine and replacing it with a peace system that will provide a more assured common security.  Strategies for demilitarizing security are directed at reducing dependency on militarism. At first glance these strategies seem to be only focused on undoing the present system.  However, they also establish normative principles for pursuing and achieving security.  Strategies for managing conflict without violence are focused on reforming and/or establishing new institutions, tools and processes for assuring security. These are the most outwardly functional components of our system.  Strategies for creating a culture of peace are the most visionary, potentially transformative, and future oriented.  These strategies are concerned with establishing social and cultural norms, values, and principles necessary for sustaining a thriving peace system and the means to spread it globally. The remainder of the book addresses realistic steps an individual or group can take, highlighting the efforts of World BEYOND War to accelerate the transition, and ending with a resource guide for further study and action.

This book is an essential learning tool for those curious about and committed to the abolition of war. It is also an invaluable resource for policy recommendations and citizen action for a more peaceful world order. It is designed for personal study, group discussion, and/or classroom use. We encourage you to read it from cover-to-cover, although you may also easily jump in at any point.

AGSS is a dynamic, living resource: while we have documented here significant research and experimentation on alternative approaches to security, and our knowledge and experiences continues to expand rapidly, we are still confronted by a dominating war system. New thinking and knowledge must be continuously developed, so we invite you to treat this as a shared project.  As you explore the alternative vision presented here, you are encouraged to formulate your own ideas on the most effective and ethically consistent strategies and institutions as the foundations of a global security system. We also firmly believe that by encouraging learners to formulate their own solutions and map out systems for common security, we are more likely to encourage ownership and political action to bring the new system into being. Citizen action is absolutely essential for the transformation of the present system. So, beyond assessing the alternatives presented, we invite you to consider (and share with us) the actions we might take, as individuals or collectively, to advance possibilities for change.

As noted above, while this book is based on the work of many experts in peace research, political science, and international relations, as well as on the experience of many activists, it is an evolving plan that will change as we gain more and more experience.  The challenges outlined in the first part are real, interconnected, and tremendous.  Sometimes we don’t make the connections because we don’t see them.  Sometimes we simply bury our heads in the sand – the problems are too big, too overwhelming, too uncomfortable.  The bad news is that the problems won’t go away if we ignore them.  The good news is that there is reason for authentic hope.¹ The historic end of war is now possible if we muster the will to act and so save ourselves and the planet from ever greater catastrophe.  World BEYOND War firmly believes that we can do this. 

STUDY WAR NO MORE – JOIN OUR ONLINE LEARNING COMMUNITY

Study War No More is our free, online learning guide designed to support further study of this book. Developed in partnership with the Global Campaign for Peace Education, the guide can be used for independent study or as a tool for facilitating dialogue and discussion in classrooms (secondary, university) and with community groups.  Study War No More presents several discussion topics, each featuring guiding questions to support deeper inquiry of essential topics. Study War No More also helps to bring this book to life: each discussion topic includes an introductory video from one of our study and action partners – leading global thinkers, strategists, academics, advocates and activists who are already developing components of an alternative global security system. Some of these study and action partners will be introduced throughout this book.

Join Study War No More, our online learning community here:

www.globalsecurity.worldbeyondwar.org

PREFACE TO 2018-19 EDITION

This 4th edition of World BEYOND War’s blueprint for ending war represents another dynamic evolution in our thinking about what comprises A Global Security System and the strategies, new models, and visions necessary for getting us there. This book guides our work and has emboldened members of our community to become active participants and changemakers who are challenging the old system and laying the foundations for the new.

Each year we invite and encourage feedback on A Global Security System: An Alternative to War - henceforth AGSS – with the hope and intention of clarifying our vision and making the blueprint easier to follow. Much of our feedback this year came from participants in our intensive online courses, many of whom found it challenging to visualize and articulate the whole system. The necessary complexity of a systemic framework of this scope can lead to confusion. Thus this edition takes on this call for clarity. Many of the changes you’ll find in these pages are structural: some parts have been moved so as to be more logically situated within the framework and a few redundancies have been deleted. Most significant in our attempt at clarity is the addition of a summary chart outlining the components and strategies of AGSS as well as a mind-map / flowchart that should aid readers in visualizing the interrelationships amongst all the dynamic parts of the system.

New to this edition are short, executive summaries to each of the three main components and guiding strategies described in the outline of our system. These summaries help illustrate the strategic balance sought between transitionary reforms to existing security efforts and more transformative proposals advocating for the development of new approaches and institutions. These summaries are also complemented by strategic policy and action recommendations. This addition was prompted by a story shared by a community member who had the opportunity to give a copy of AGSS to a U.S. Congresswoman. The Congresswoman’s office found AGSS powerful yet too dense for the average lawmaker. These new recommendations distill some of what we believe to be the most critical policy recommendations to be pursued. These recommendations are also focused calls to action: guiding suggestions for political engagement for all concerned.

Another challenge of visualizing AGSS is that many find it difficult to imagine something that has yet to come into being. As with past editions, we share stories of hope and change that illuminate the undocumented and unprecedented peace revolution of modern times; a revolution that is overshadowed by the predominant cultural narrative of militarism. We attempt to breathe a bit more life into these stories by introducing the work of many of our study and action partners: leading global thinkers, strategists, academics, advocates and activists who are already developing components of an Alternative Global Security System. These partners were previously introduced on Study War No More, our complementary, free, online learning guide designed to support further study of this book. We share snippets of their stories here with links to video interviews found on Study War No More.

The section on Proposals for Starting Over: Alternative Approaches to Humane Global Governance has also had a major overhaul. We haven’t entirely given up on the United Nations, but we recognize its many faults, many of which may be too difficult to overcome under the present nation state paradigm. We continue to call for strategic reforms of the current system, but we also believe it’s essential to rethink the entire paradigm of global governance. World BEYOND War recently drafted a new framework for a Global Emergency Assembly (GEA), a vision for an institution of global governance designed to replace the current UN system. We complement our synopsis of GEA (a work in progress) with a broader introduction to The Earth Federation & The Earth Constitution. These efforts go back to 1958, when the World Constitution and Parliament Association was founded to promote the principles of global democratic governance. We think these proposals represent some of the most promising visions and models for peaceful global governance and share them with the hopes that they will spur much needed new thinking and potentially influence reforms to existing institutions.

As with past editions, we strive to incorporate new and updated data to more accurately illustrate current trends. The contributions from peace research are growing and whenever possible we integrate empirical evidence from analyses in the Peace Science Digest² to support many of the arguments made. In addition, research institutions like the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the Peace Research Institute Oslo, the Institute for Economics and Peace or One Earth Future Research provide data on military spending, business and security, gender and security, peacefulness or lack thereof, and empirically based, actionable strategies and policy recommendations.

We know that we might not sufficiently address all emerging security concerns. For instance, we could easily dedicate an entire volume to address the dilemmas of Trumpism. However, truth-be-told, Donald Trump’s escalatory rhetoric hardly represents a new tack in U.S. foreign diplomacy or security policy. While we continue to resist all current and new wars, the mission of World BEYOND War and AGSS is to end all wars - a more long-term, strategic endeavor. We hope this updated edition provides opportunities for new learning, new outreach, and new partnerships that might aid us in moving beyond the choir with our efforts and connect the disconnected. We hope that other movement builders, such as our study and action partners, will continue to engage in the critical work of building components of the new system as well as identify areas of focus and unity based on developments and insights highlighted in the book.

A GUIDING VISION OF PEACE

There are many different visions of peace, the following is ours.  A sustainable future world in which children live free from fear and violence, are nurtured by a culture of peace, and are able to achieve their full human potential is what motivates World BEYOND War’s